Overflow crowd fills St. James Catholic Church in Lakewood to celebrate reopening

LAKEWOOD, Ohio — A shared emotion flowed through the crowd of over 1,400 worshipers Wednesday night in the reopening of St. James Catholic Church in Lakewood.

Overwhelming joy radiated from the faces of even those who had to stand outside the church for the celebration of the feast of St. James the Apostle.

St. James, which was closed on June 26, 2010, by Bishop Richard Lennon as part of a diocese-wide downsizing, became the sixth of 11 area churches that successfully appealed to the Vatican to reverse their closures to reopen its doors.

Some who came Wednesday had bitter memories of the closing, but left the Mass exhilarated. One was Josephine Hatala, who had attended the church for 50 years and lives within walking distance.

"My two kids, Rick and Deb, went to Catholic school here," Hatala said. "I was heartbroken and mad when the bishop closed this church. I didn't go to any other church after St. James closed.

"But today I saw a dream come true. I didn't want to miss this Mass . . . and I'd say we're back on the job."

Even before the service, men like Larry Johancen of North Olmsted, who had been a member of St. James for 38 years, were beaming.

"You have no idea of how exciting this is after 2 1/2 years," he said. "I once lived in Lakewood . . . but I'm coming back here on a regular basis."

Joseph Dwyer of Lakewood said he couldn't wait to attend. He views St. James as one of the most beautiful churches in the world. After St. James closed its doors, he said he roamed all over Northeast Ohio to find a church as beautiful -- and didn't.

Dwyer said eight of the church's 16 columns were made of Porta Santa marble from Greece. That marble was only quarried 2,000 years ago and is found in only three other churches -- St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican, the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran in Rome and the St. Mark's Basilica in Venice.

"I never gave up faith that this church would re-open," Dwyer said. "We had faith plus prayer which carried us to this day. But this church should have never been closed in the first place."

St. James is a unique style of church, said Duane Van Dyke of Lakewood, a board member of Heritage Ohio, a statewide preservation organization.

"I've been a member here since 1996 because I have an affinity for historic churches," Van Dyke said. "It is second to none in materials used, and a unique style which has become part of the fabric of Lakewood."

The mass drew the interest of Bob Rose, who is Jewish. His grandfather, Martin, built the light fixtures in the church in 1930.

"I'm ecstatic this church has been saved," Rose said. "It's really an icon."

The mass itself produced several standing ovations, including at 7 p.m., when Rev. Joseph Workman spoke the word "Welcome" at the altar.

Thirty minutes later, before his sermon, Workman introduced now-retired priest Rev. John Weigand, who served at St. James for 25 years, and the packed house again responded with thunderous applause. Parishioners said Weigand was gifted at preaching.

Workman said in his sermon that St. James Church and the other churches need the Holy Spirit to guide their communities as they reopen their church doors. He warned that the faithful need to be witnesses to a secular world even as St. James the Apostle was.

Three more churches are scheduled to reopen -- St. Wendelin Cleveland this Sunday, St. Adalbert in Cleveland on August 12, and St. Mary in Akron on August 15. Two others, Cleveland parishes St. Peter and St. Emeric, have not yet been scheduled for reopening.

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